He is just ok, but could be better

He is a Jerk!

There's a reasonable justification there for keeping Riker around for a while longer. We might assume that somebody at Statfleet took him aside and said, "Y'know, Will, you're a captain now. And we won't blame you if you tell us to blow it out our ass. But we'd really like you to stay as Enterprise XO for a while longer and just make sure Picard can still do the job." And then had him grapple with that for a little bit. I mean, 'First Contact' establishes pretty clearly that Starfleet have still got doubts about Picard and the Borg. It would explain why Riker stayed longer anyway.

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Meh. I never put much stock in Hayes' decision to keep the Enterprise on the sidelines. He was an idiot (if we're to believe Janeway's description of him) who liked to hear himself talk. In reality, the writers needed an excuse to have the Enterprise come charging to the rescue, and Picard's history with the Borg provided them with a perfect scenario for such.

As for why he stayed on the Enterprise, I think it may have had a lot to do with it being the flagship. And I'm not saying he stayed for the prestige of being on it, but for the unique opportunities it gave him. He got to lead away missions on different worlds, be a part of high profile events that he wouldn't have on some random Federation ship. I think he loved the experiences the Enterprise gave him, and he was in no hurry to be a captain, as he was confident enough to think he would have his own command when he was ready to leave. The romantic in me makes me think part of the reason he stayed, and he may not have even been aware of it at the time, was his feelings for Troi. I think deep down he always wanted a happy ending with her.

I think it would be fine for certain characters to turn down a promotion - Geordi, for example, who is a bit softer than Riker - but not someone who was supposed to be a go-getter with an eye on his own command.

I quite agree with one of the earlier posters. They should've had Riker get promoted to being a captain midway through the series and have him be a recurring character that we see often (think someone like Cally or Anders on Battlestar). Not only would it make sense for the character, they could've used the opportunity to boost the number of recurring characters and plotlines in TNG, an aspect that I thought was sorely lacking.

That's a what if scenario we've certainly thought of before. The trouble with BOBW Part 1 (if I'm being subjective about it) is that it really does write itself into a corner. That scenario is the obvious outcome of that cliffhanger episode, so in a lot of ways the fact that it doesn't happen can't help but feel a little unsatisfying.

I can't really see Riker as being Captain of the Enterprise, another ship definately but I think Starfleet Command would want a more experienced CO in the centre seat. The ships he was offered (the Aries and Melbourne) were both smaller and more suitable for a first command.

Had Riker left the ship he may have taken others on the crew with him (Worf was ready and willing to jump ship when Riker was offered the Aries), so TNG could have had an episode each season that was based on Riker's ship--in addition to being recurring characters the rest of the time.

Riker didn't want to be stuck with a cheesy, thrown-together guest-ship-of-the-week bridge.

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Good one! In all seriousness, I think Riker stayed on the Enterprise because the writers and producers weren't comfortable taking the risk of writing him off the ship for any length of time. The Next Generation was the first spin-off of TOS, and the TOS films went out of their way to keep the Enterprise crew together as much as possible (before finally giving Sulu his own ship). The idea that a significant character could be written out of the series or have his role drastically altered wasn't something that had been explored to that point.

DS9 was the first Trek series to push the boundaries of fans' comfort zones with characters. The crew lost their station at the end of the fifth season and didn't regain it until several episodes into the following year. A regular character and several recurring characters were killed during the show's run. A main cast member from another series was added to the show before the fourth season. Had TNG happened after DS9, it's possible we'd have seen Riker booted from Enterprise with Thomas eventually replacing him. But that wasn't going to happen with TNG being only the second Trek series.

By the end of the year, Riker could have been completely on his own, and Shelby would have been established as Picard's new right hand. I know that Roddenberry wanted to paint a picture of harmony and cohesion, but he could have done that without having Riker rooted in place for so many years.

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That would have been great, Shelby would have been the female Number One that Gene had always wanted, but was forced by NBC to abandon after "The Cage".

By the end of the year, Riker could have been completely on his own, and Shelby would have been established as Picard's new right hand. I know that Roddenberry wanted to paint a picture of harmony and cohesion, but he could have done that without having Riker rooted in place for so many years.

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That would have been great, Shelby would have been the female Number One that Gene had always wanted, but was forced by NBC to abandon after "The Cage".

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NBC didn't want Roddenberry to abandon the female first officer, they wanted him to abandon having his mistress playing the part.

By the end of the year, Riker could have been completely on his own, and Shelby would have been established as Picard's new right hand. I know that Roddenberry wanted to paint a picture of harmony and cohesion, but he could have done that without having Riker rooted in place for so many years.

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That would have been great, Shelby would have been the female Number One that Gene had always wanted, but was forced by NBC to abandon after "The Cage".

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NBC didn't want Roddenberry to abandon the female first officer, they wanted him to abandon having his mistress playing the part.

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That depends on which memoir you choose to believe, but the end result was the same, regardless.